DVD Recommendation: Kings

I know critics and HBO fans will consider this sacrilege, but I've always thought that the TV series Deadwood was over-rated.  Filled with unlikable characters, morose, and pointlessly profane, the show tried so hard to be edgy that for me, it had the opposite effect and just bored me.  For me, the show's only draw was the character of Al Swearengen, played with relish by character actor Ian McShane.

If you liked McShane in Deadwood -- and maybe even if you didn't -- you'll like Kings.  The two shows may be a million miles apart in many ways, but McShane cleans house and kicks butt in both.  (figuratively)

Kings is set in an alternate universe in which contemporary America is divided into a group of absolute monarchies.  One of the most powerful of these nation-states is the Kingdom of Gilboa (the alternate reality's version of New York State), and standing rule over Gilboa from the capital city of Shiloh (Manhattan in our world) is King Silas Benjamin, played with the same gusto McShane earlier brought to the role of Swearengen.

Like Swearengen, Silas cannot be defined as either hero or villain, as he exhibits elements of both.  Yes, he is conniving and ruthless in his treatment of enemies both real and imagined (and enemies of the king are indeed many), and he has no qualms with ordering assassinations, cover-ups, executions, or invasions, if they suit his political needs.  However, he is also a loving father, and more to the point of the series, a mostly benevolent king whose concern for the well-being of his subjects is wholly sincere and not governed by politics.  He tries hard to be a good king, and often succeeds.

The story is set in motion when a soldier named David Shepherd rescues a P.O.W. from the enemy nation-state of Gath.  Unbeknown to David, the POW is actually Jack Benjamin, Prince of Gilboa.  As a reward, Silas promotes David to the newly created position of "military liaison to the press" -- basically an army-appointed press secretary for the Royal Court.  The show then becomes a study of the contrasting lives and personalities of David, a naive but virtuous young man who strives to fit in with his new world of constant palace intrigue, and Silas, Gilboa's complex and sometimes wise ruler.  Other key players in the series include Jack, the sorta-villainous prince who is primarily motivated by ambition, jealousy, and pettiness; Michelle, the virtuous princess who falls in love with David; and Reverend Ephram Samuels, a beloved spiritual leader whose political split with Silas is well-intentioned but could spell trouble for everyone involved.

One thing I like about this show is that nearly every character is deeply layered.  From the lead characters to the supporting players to the guest stars, and even often down to the bit players (such as a pair of bumbling security guards who are initially introduced as comic relief, but later become more nuanced), the people inhabiting the world of Gilboa are immensely interesting.  And although this is all set in an alternate reality, this is no fantasy tale.  No magic, dragons, or fairy-tale elements abound, as Gilboa, like the real world, is more concerned with computers, the stock market, tabloids, and pretty much everything else (save for elected officials!) we find in contemporary America.  Kings is, in other words, a delightful mixture of pure imagination and real-world issues.  It's one heckuva show.

New-to-DVD review: Smiley

Two minor celebrities have supporting roles in Smiley, the latest slasher/ urban legend horror film.  What's interesting to me is that whenever these stars appear on the screen, the quality of not just the acting, but also the writing, increases to quite a noticeable extent.  How to explain this?  Did the writers already know they would get a couple of respected veteran actors to play these roles, and therefore put a little more effort into their scenes?

Smiley tells the story of Ashley, a naive college freshman who has lived such a sheltered life that she is awed and nearly overwhelmed by virtually every aspect of college life.  (Her "wow, so this is college!" attitude is a bit over-written, to be honest, but it's a minor quibble.)  As Ashley adjusts to college parties, roommates, etc., she also learns of a new aspect to college life, everyone's obsession with Internet chats.  Ashley's classmates all seem to love nothing more than talking with each other, and even complete strangers, on the Internet.  But one aspect of this fad is highly disturbing:  Smiley.  Smiley -- so-named because of the hideously grinning mask he wears -- is a serial killer who, according to urban legend, instantly appears anytime someone types "I did it for the lulz" three times in a row in an Internet chat.

Now, with that set-up, you'd think that Smiley would be the easiest killer in the world to avoid.  He has to be summoned in a very deliberate manner.  Just don't summon him!  Yet for various reasons -- curiosity, dares, disbelief, sadism, etc. -- Smiley is summoned again and again, and so, of course, college kids start dying left and right.

This is all pretty by-the-numbers.  That's not to say that it's necessarily bad; if you tend to enjoy this type of simplistic horror formula (I happen to be one of those people), you'll like Smiley.  If this doesn't sound like your cup of tea, trust that instinct.

But what elevates Smiley above purely standard schlock, are those scenes with the Big Name actors.  Okay, so they're not really big name actors unless compared to the no-name main cast, but still.

Roger Bart, best known for a key supporting role in Desperate Housewives, and as Carmen Ghia, the flamboyantly gay theater director in The Producers, has a supporting role as Clayton, a philosophy professor whose classroom lectures, unbeknown to the prof himself, provide a running commentary on the events in the film.  The dialogue in every one of Bart's scenes is written with refreshing humor and a surprising amount of insight; with the formulaic set-up and presentation that Smiley mostly provides, I expected some good but mindless entertainment, but the Professor's scenes actually make you laugh and think more than most movies of this ilk ever dare try.  I especially liked the Professor's lecture on moral nihilism, which really gets to the heart of just why these damn kids keep summoning Smiley even after it's been proven time and again that he is indeed real.  Hint: it's not just a matter of "dumb college kids."

The other minor celeb is Keith David, whose generic name belies the fact that, trust me, you've seen him in stuff.  He's best known as the narrator of such documentaries as Ken Burns's films, and the History Channel's The Bible, but he's also been in a ton of movies, including There's Something About Mary, in which he plays Cameron Diaz's African-American father.  In Smiley, he has a fun cameo as Detective Diamond, a homicide cop who patiently tries to explain to Ashley exactly why the police department can't waste its time trying to track down alleged supernatural killers who are magically summoned on the Internet, and then disappear without leaving so much as a trace that a crime was committed, all on the word of a college freshman who freely admits she's off her psych meds.  It's a small role, to be sure, but David has fun with it, playing the character as equally amused and frustrated by Ashley's wild story.  The scene is brilliantly performed by David, and is also easily the best-written non-Roger-Bart scene in the movie, providing some self-deprecating humor by admitting and poking fun at the absurdity of the movie's own plotline.

Do I recommend Smiley?  That depends purely on whether or not you enjoy this type of horror film.  This is not a movie like The Cabin in the Woods, whose ingenuity causes it to transcend the standard quality of the genre.  I'd say that most scenes in Smiley stick pretty close to formula, including populating a very simple story with very one-dimensional characters.  But then Roger Bart and Keith David show up, and for those brief shining moments, the writers suddenly bring an A-game to the type of movie that usually doesn't even warrant an A-game.  So yeah, I enjoyed it.